£10.99

In stock

Catalogue number

10GODSCD

Release date

24/03/2008

Format

CD

Label

2GODS

Attrition

All Mine Enemys Whispers - The Story of Mary Ann Cotton

ATTRITION are pioneers in a darker electronica.  Formed in 1980 in Coventry, England, influenced by a mix of punk ideology and experimental art aesthetics, they emerged as part of the early '80's UK Industrial scene alongside contemporaries Coil, Test Department, Legendary Pink Dots, In The Nursery, Portion Control et al.  Founder Martin Bowes has steered the band through a 26 year career, fuelled by a succession of critically acclaimed albums, worldwide tours and appearances on a number of film soundtracks. The band began a re vamp of their back catalogue in 2006 kicking off with the compilation album Tearing Arms From Deities 1980-2005 which was released in late 2006.  In 2007 Attrition undertook a lengthy and hugely successful tour of America and has been working on their latest album which is a soundtrack album from a film about the Victorian serial killer Mary Ann Cotton.

A dark ambient musical score exploring the life, and death, of one of England’s darkest characters…

A surreal and nightmare-ish dreamscape - All mine enemy’s whispers is mix of styles from avante guarde to neo-classical to music concrete - and is possibly the ultimate in “Gothic”… Recorded over 3 years in the U.K., Germany and USA,  It is a culmination of everything Attrition have achieved over their 25 years of working with dark electronic soundscapes…

The Story

Mary Ann Cotton was born October 1832 in County Durham, Northern England.

Possibly the greatest female mass murderer Britain has ever known, she left a trail of death throughout her life, killing  between 16 to 21 of her children  and former husbands over many years by arsenic poisoning.  She was eventually arrested, tried and hanged in Durham Jail on the 24th March 1873.

The Police officer that arrested Mary Ann Cotton was a Sergeant Tom McCutcheon.

Coincidentally, his daughter, Louisa McCutcheon, had worked for a while for Mary as a seamstress.

On departing for Durham jail Mary gave Louisa her prized sewing box as the only way she could now pay her for her work…

The sewing box was kept in Louisa’s family and passed down through the generations. 

Rather uneasily considering what it represented…

My own father met a by then very old Louisa when he was a young child in the 1940’s.  He recently recounted this story and passed the box onto me.  Louisa McCutcheon was my great great aunt.

Martin Bowes. 2007

Mainman Martin Bowes is joined on this album by regular vocalist Laurie Reade and some very special guests...

Emilie Autumn(Courtney Love, Billy Corgan): Violin & vocals
Ned Kirby (Stromkern): Piano
Erica Mulkey (Unwoman, Rasputina): Cello
Ute Mansell (Urban Sax): Saxaphone

"Mary Ann Cotton,

She's dead and she's rotten

She lies in her bed

With her eyes wide open

Sing, sing, oh, what can I sing

Mary Ann Cotton is tied up with string.

Where, where ? Up in the air

Sellin`black puddens a penny a pair."

Legend has it, that on Halloween, if you sing this Victorian children's rhyme over the grave of Mary Ann Cotton, you can hear the sound of children crying…

Martin’s children Naomi & Jordan Bowes recorded the Victorian rhyme for this soundtrack on halloween 2006.

The album features subliminal recording of the actual sewing box…which is also re-created, with original victorian poison bottles, in the digipack edition for the initial pressing of this release.

Martin is currently working with a US film producer on a feature film version of the life of Mary Ann Cotton.

There are also plans to perform the album live in the none too distant future.

Contact Martin Bowes info@attrition.co.uk

Websites:  www.attrition.co.uk

www.myspace.com/danteskitchen